- City:
- Vale, OR
- Site Type:
- Forestry and Agriculture, Infrastructure and Utilities, Dams, Irrigation Water and Canals
- New Deal Agencies:
- Bureau of Reclamation (BuRec), Conservation and Public Lands
- Started:
- 1934
- Completed:
- 1935
- Contractor:
- Hinman Brothers
- Quality of Information:
- Good
- Marked:
- No
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation authorized construction of the Agency Valley Dam, on the North Fork of the Malheur River, in 1933. The Hinman Brothers, of Denver, began work on the 110 foot high, earthen structure in March 1934 and the project was completed in December 1935. The reservoir capacity of the dam project is 59,200 acre-feet.
Authorization of the dam was based on the needs of the Vale Project, an irrigation and water control plan serving the Malheur River area. It is the second of three dams serving the project and the only one constructed during the Depression. The Warm Springs Dam was built in 1918. The Bully Creek Dam, the project’s third dam, was not constructed until 1963 although analysis for the dam began in 1938 with the completion of the Agency Valley Dam.
Source notes
"Agency Dam Bids Open," Oregonian. January 19, 1934.
"Agency Valley Dam," Bureau of Reclamation website: Projects & Facilities. Viewed January 10, 2023. https://www.usbr.gov/projects/index.php?id=261
"Agency Valley Dam," Wikipedia website, Viewed January 10, 2023: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agency_Valley_Dam
"Dam Work Rushed at Agency Valley," Oregonian. June 22, 1935.
Site originally submitted by Judith T Kenny on January 11, 2023.
Additional contributions by Jim Reed.
Site Details
| Total Cost |
|---|
| $496.286 |
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